Sulfur containing effluent gas streams are a byproduct of many industrial processes. For example, produced gases associated with the steam-based recovery of bitumen from oil sands contain primarily methane, CO.sub.2, minor amounts of C.sub.6 or lower alkanes and H.sub.2 S in amounts of about 0.5 mole % or so. Combustion of these H.sub.2 S containing gas streams, of course, results in the formation of SO.sub.2 which becomes a component of the flue gas. In order to meet environmental requirements it is necessary to remove the SO.sub.2 from such effluent flue gas streams.
Typically the SO.sub.2 present in effluent flue gas streams resulting from the combustion of fuels that contain H.sub.2 S or other sulfur compounds is removed from the effluent stream by one of a variety of scrubbing techniques. For example, one technique involves scrubbing the gas with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide or ammonia This, of course, suffers from the disadvantage of having to purchase, store and mix the requisite reagent, as well as dispose of the resulting waste material.
Another technique for removing SO.sub.2 from flue gas involves scrubbing the effluent with seawater. Seawater scrubbing, of course, is limited to use at facilities in the immediate vicinity of a seawater source. Additionally, the used seawater must be diluted and its pH buffered with fresh seawater before it can be disposed of and this incurs additional pumping expense.
Yet another scrubbing technique utilizes a limestone slurry or variations thereof Although limestone slurry processes and modifications thereof are the most widely used method of flue gas desulfurization, they result in the formation of a spent slurry that needs to be disposed of by land farming or other means.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,349 there is disclosed a process for producing petroleum by steam injection into a petroleum-bearing formation in which the steam is generated by firing a steam generator with a sulfur containing fuel. The resultant flue gas is scrubbed with alkaline water obtained from the petroleum bearing formation. This technique requires pumping large volumes of flue gas for treatment and exposes the steam generators to potentially corrosive conditions.
In view of the foregoing, there remains a need for improvements in processing waste streams such as those generated in burning the gas obtained as a byproduct in bitumen production which is highly effective, practical and economically attractive.